Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Whiteside Boyle, D.S.O. 1867-1923
Text from the plaque
A legendary adventurer known as "Klondike Joe", Boyle was born in Toronto and came to Woodstock with his family in 1872. He worked at various jobs before attaining great success as a prospector and entrepreneur in the Yukon. At the outbreak of the First World War, Boyle raised, financed and equipped a fifty-man machine gun contingent. Determined to help the war effort further, he headed an allied mission to Russian in 1917 to help reorganize the railway system. His adventures soon took him to Rumania where he became a confidant of the Royal Family. He was charged with obtaining famine relief for the Rumanian people and with negotiating a peace treaty with Russia. Much honoured for his effort, Boyle died in England.
Transcribed from the marker, not summarised.
Find the place
The County of Oxford
The City of Woodstock
In front of a cemetery on the west side of Vansittart Avenue
between Devonshire Avenue and Vincent Street
Also recorded for this place: The County of Oxford
N 43 08.462 W 80 45.917
Recorded August 2004. Check current access before visiting.
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Visitors' notes
May 21, 2010
Looking for family History on Joseph Whiteside Boyle, from his parents back. Would love help with this. Do you known anything.Donna anytime
April 12, 2010
Hi, I can't find anything on Klondike Joe's repatriation to Woodstock in 1983. Can you help me? Charles